Conner looked up from where he was training with Kid Flash. His super-hearing had picked up something...
Just then a girl scuttled around the corner, stopping and staring when she saw him. Conner had no idea who she was or what she wanted, but it was clear she was an intruder, since she hadn't come in by way of zeta beams or been met by a member of the team, and she was in civies...
Conner knew only one thing since he'd joined the team, and that was that he felt special, unique, for once... He liked what he had, and he was going to protect it.
"Hey kid, who are you?" he asked. She was pretty small, no, really small, with a tiny frame and a pale face...
Suddenly and expression of fear crossed her features, and she turned to run, but Conner was in front of her, already gripping her shoulders.
"Kid, we just want to talk..." he growled, but he was seriously running out of patience.
"S-stop." she stuttered, looking at Conner's knuckles, which gripping her shoulders, and were turning white as his super strength worked. "You're hurting me."
"I want answers, kid. Now." Conner said, blue eyes cold and voice icy.
"Conner, she's just a kid..." Kid Flash tried. He remembered her, but Conner wasn't going to listen to a whole origin story now. He just wanted answers...
"She's an intruder. Part of the injustice league, for all we know..."
Suddenly the girl freed one arm and slugged Conner, catching the teen off guard and sending him stumbling back.
"Hey!" Artemis had walked in just in time to see the girl strike Conner, and she had an arrow currently aimed at her heart...
The girl dove between Wally's legs, rolling and jumping to her feet with ease that surprised them all. Wally was unnerved by her skills, the last time he'd seen her she hadn't been this good, and tried to put her in a bear hug to allow time for him to explain things, but she whirled, spin-kicking him and ducking Artemis's arrow, now in full combat mode.
"Leave Wally alone!" Artemis yelled, angry when she saw her crush being hit.
"Leave me alone." the girl replied, getting hostile, now. She didn't want any of these people... she knew Wally, sure, would've loved to talk to her 'older brother', but with this blonde chick attacking that wasn't going to happen...
Suddenly Conner appeared from nowhere, fist connecting with her face, and she flew backwards, managing to land the fall in a graceful backflip, poised between Conner and Artemis, wondering what she was going to do...
Artemis let three arrows fly, and the girl flipped over all three, giggling at Artemis's frustration and flipping behind her, stealing Artemis's quiver as Conner and Wally raced up behind her...
She swept her leg like a break-dancing move, making Artemis fall, jump kicking Wally in the chest as he tried to rush her again and ducking Conner's punch, a kick
sending her flying into the wall. She went up to flip and suddenly Conner jumped, about to nail her again, when suddenly another flying kick landed on The Super Boy's chest, sending him flying into the wall.
The sharp edge of the birdarang pressed into his throat as Robin held it there, eyes cold. "What in the name of Joker are you doing!?" he demanded.
"She's an intruder, Robin! Don't defend her!" Artemis said, an arrow already pointed at the girl, who had since gracefully landed her flip and walked over towards Robin.
"Intruder?" Robin scoffed. "Hardly. She's my sister. And if any of you ever try to hurt her again, I won't hesitate to end you." he said, giving them a glare that rivaled the Bat's.
"Relax, Rob. I expect the unexpected, remember? Besides, they were just giving me a refresher in hand-to-hand combat." the girl quipped.
Robin nodded, putting a hand on her shoulder and trying not to grin. Only his sister could hack through his security and find a way inside to surprise him, and hold off three people at once.
"Wait, she's your sister!?" Artemis demanded.
Robin nodded, a slight smile gracing his lips and even seeming to reach through his domino mask. "The one and only. I take it you broke out of the boarding school, again?" Robin asked.
"Yes. Honestly, how they thought that ship-shod system would keep me in is beyond me. Stupid Briarwood."
"They figured out you're gone, yet?" Robin asked.
"Probably. In fact, they're probably panicking right now. It looks bad when someone breaks in, sure, but when one of their own students breaks out, that's just humiliating."
"Wait, so why are you here?" Conner demanded, still slightly upset Robin had threatened him like he had.
"Bar?" she asked quietly in Romani (1), meaning brother, Robin knew she wanted to speak to him.
"Excuse us, we have some catching up to do." he said, turning down the hall and leaving Conner, Wally, and Artemis to wonder what they were up to.
"What is it?" Robin asked quietly, as soon as they were alone in the hall.
"I want to join the team. I'm ready, Dick, I don't see why Bruce has kept me at that boarding school..."
"Because it was safe." Robin interjected.
"Yes, but more like he was busy training you and didn't want me fighting crime with him after I thought there was hope for the Joker. I hate that boarding school, Dick, I have no friends, I don't fit in, and I miss you..." her voice cracked, and he gently reached up a gloved hand to brush away a tear that trickled down her cheek.
"Alright, Scarlet, I'll see what I can do. Bruce is going to be ticked you broke out again, this is, what, the eighth time?"
She nodded quietly, and he grinned. "I'm surprised they haven't just reverted to old fashioned locks for you yet." he commented, and she smiled slightly.
"Even if they did, I could pick them."
"Sure could. Have you been training?" Robin asked, busy as they walked, now.
"More than ever. I'm ready, and I want to attend Gotham Academy with you... Which reminds me, happy birthday, Rob." she handed him a small box. He opened it, finding a new wrist computer in it, and he stared.
"You got the x-91-ste? How?"
"I let the daughter of the company CEO copy my answers and she managed to get me two of them. I figured it was worth it, besides, the girl studied, she was just a bad test taker."
Robin nodded. "I take it you used yours to hack through my security, then?"
"Sure did. Does the team know it's your birthday?" they were approaching the team once again by now...
"It's your birthday!?" Megann stared. The rest of the team had gathered in the training room and had been discussing the situation, and Robin shrugged.
"Yes..."
"Why didn't you tell us!?" Artemis demanded, getting angry. "And why didn't you tell us about her?" Conner growled, eyeing Scarlet contemptiously.
"You guys never asked. As for my sister, Wally knew about her, as does most of the league. She had no relevance at any time during our missions, and you guys never asked about family, so I never told you."
Everyone turned to stare at Wally. "Yeah, I knew. Why else do you think I tried to get you to ease up on her, Conner? I was trying to explain, but she technically was an intruder, but then you guys started to fight her..."
"Let's stop fighting about it and start over." Megann suggested. "Robin, would you please introduce us to your sister?"
"Sure. Guys, this is Sparrow, my younger sister. She bypassed her boarding school security to get here and visit me, and broke into the cave to surprise me for my birthday. You guys can't tell Batman..."
"Tell me what?" in the commotion, no one had heard the Zeta beams announce Batman's arrival. Batman's eyes instantly narrowed when he saw Sparrow.
"Sparrow, you're supposed to be at school." he said, face showing no emotion.
"Br- I mean, Batman, it was Robin's birthday, I wanted to surprise him..."
"Both of you, come with me." Batman ordered, and the two siblings followed, leaving a shocked team behind.
"Well, they're dead." Wally remarked, and they all nodded, knowing the Bat would take the two apart from here.
"Bruce, please. I hate the boarding school, my life stinks there. I have no friends, no life, everyone makes fun of me. Please! Anything is better than the boarding school! I know joining the team right away is asking a little much, but maybe you could take me under your wing while Robin's busy here..."
"Robin, what do you have to say about this?" Batman asked quietly. He allowed the children to call him Bruce only because they were alone.
"Bruce, she's ready. She's hacked through her school security eight times, taken down thugs in England, when she can, but they refuse to recognize her as a hero there, just a vigilante. Besides, she hacked into the cave security and got in undetected, and managed to hold off three people when attacked. She's been training, Bruce, she's ready."
Batman nodded slowly. "I'll be the one to decide that, Dick."
"Yes, Bruce." Dick looked at the floor.
"And if she is ready, which I'll decide later, I want her to get used to the team. Sparrow, you're to stay here for the rest of today and tomorrow, until I can get your old room at the manor ready, and then I have to talk to the league about all of this..."
"Since when do you take orders from the league, Bruce? You'll tell them what you're doing and say they can't stop you, just like when you took Rob and I in." Sparrow said, smiling slightly.
Batman nodded, smiling slightly. "Yes, I'll tell the league what I'm doing, I suppose, but for now, go meet the team. You might as well get used to them until I can evaluate your skills. And one last thing, Sparrow."
"Yeah, Bruce?" she asked, turning to face her adoptive father as he put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's good to have you back. I hated sending you to that boarding school. I only did it to keep you safe."
She nodded. "I know, Bruce. But it's time for this bird to fly." she grinned, before running from the room. It was time to meet the team.
(1) Romani is the native language of gypsies, and is commonly confused with the more well-known and documented Romanian language, Romanian. Dick and Scarlet's parents, the Graysons, had gypsy heritige, therfore in my fics I have them speak Romani.
Now you've learned your new thing for the day! And if you already knew this... I deem you the ULTIMATE GRAYSON FAN! :)